Malcolm Bricklin at it again, plans to export Chery G6 to USA

---

Long time observers of the Chinese car industry may remember Malcolm Bricklin and his oddball plans to take Chery vehicles to the USA, this all ended in a spat and with Bricklin threatening to sue the bejesus out of Chery for ripping him off. Now it seems to be that Chery, or rather Bricklin, is still planning to go ahead with his plans to take Chery’s to the USA:

From the Globe and Mail:

Malcolm Bricklin, the entrepreneur who brought the Yugo car to the United States in the 1980s, said he has lined up the first six dealers to sell Chinese cars in America beginning in 2007.Bricklin, who plans to sell 250,000 vehicles in the first year, outlined to the dealers last week his plan to offer high-quality Chinese vehicles that “redefine the price of luxury.”China’s Chery Automobile Co., which will make the cars, has been accused of pirating a compact car sold in China by General Motors Corp. known as the Chevrolet Spark. But Bricklin said the cars they will make for him will offer quality as good as Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus luxury brand.According to the plan, the China-built vehicles sold on the U.S. market will cost about 30 per cent less than comparable cars.”We talked to our first six [dealers] last week, and our first six said ‘yes,’ ” Bricklin said during a speech to the Society of Automotive Analysts in Southfield, outside Detroit.The dealers have agreed to put $2-million (U.S.) in escrow to invest in Bricklin’s company, Visionary Vehicles LLC, and in a Chery factory in China that will build the cars for the U.S. market, said Pierre Gagnon, president and chief operating officer of North American sales and distribution for Visionary.

So if the Chery G6 is considered a luxury car and is set to cost around 200,000rmb or $30,000usd when launched what other luxury cars can you get for the same price in the USA? Well the Hyundai Genesis costs a mere $32,000USD for the base model, a base BMW 3 series is also in the low thirty range, basically what we’re trying to say is that the Chery G6 is going to have to be ultra luxury to take on the bargain basement models from the already existing premium brands. Either Bricklin is insane, or Chery are for going through with this.